Greg Abbott on Immigration

Assist in arresting, jailing, deporting illegal immigrants

Texas is the only state in US to build its own border wall

The House and Senate are proposing another $4.6 billion to strengthen our border security efforts. But know this: Illegal smuggling is being aided and abetted by U.S. residents. That must stop. We must impose a mandatory minimum jail sentence of at least 10 years for anyone caught smuggling illegal immigrants in Texas.

$4 billion and 1000s of troops for border security

Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke immediately went on the attack, saying Abbott was trying to deflect the blame on immigration as he would on other issues. He noted that Abbott's expensive border mission has not had the impact of deterring border crossings.

Signed the toughest border security law of any state

Biden Administration in dereliction of duty on border

MAYORKAS: It is the policy of this administration. We do not agree with the building of the wall. The law provides that individuals can make a claim for humanitarian relief. That is actually one of our proudest traditions.

ABBOTT: Listen, Secretary Mayorkas and even, I can be candid, even President Biden, are in dereliction of duty. The United States Constitution itself requires that the president and that the federal government secure the sovereignty of the United States of America, and the Biden administration has abandoned any pretense of securing the sovereignty of either Texas or the United States.

Hire Border Patrol agents who are fired by feds

Border unsecured, there's onrush of illegal immigration

MAYORKAS: This is nothing new. We've seen this type of irregular migration many, many times throughout the years. I don't know if Governor Abbott said the same thing in 2019 when there were more than a million people encountered at the southern border.

Texas must fortify its efforts to secure our border

Require local cooperation enforcing immigration laws

Excerpt from Sen. Sylvia Garcia statement: "I am afraid that this legislation will lead to harassment and profiling of Latinos. The last thing I want is 'walking while brown' to become reasonable suspicion. And, frankly, it doesn't matter how much this legislation's supporters promise that this will not happen. It will happen."

Legislative outcome: Passed Senate 20-11-0 on May/3/17; passed House 94-53-1 on Apr/27/17; signed by Governor Greg Abbott May/7/17.

Enforce against sanctuary cities or more Texans will die

Juan Rios is a criminal alien who had been arrested in Texas multiple times and deported three times. Last September, he went on a crime spree across Texas, killing two people & kidnapping another. It's a tragedy repeated too often in Texas. It is time for Texas to take a stand.

Some law enforcement officials in Texas are openly refusing to enforce existing law. That is unacceptable. Elected officials don't get to pick and choose which laws they obey. To protect Texans from deadly danger, we must insist that laws be followed. This is the session we will ban sanctuary cities. I'm declaring this an emergency item.

Ordered no more Syrian refugee resettlement

500 new state troopers plus Texas Rangers at the border

In Texas, we will not sit idly by while the President ignores the law and fails to secure the border. That's why I have a comprehensive border security plan, to more than double current spending on border security. It adds 500 new state troopers, more Texas Rangers who can focus on corruption, more funding for local law enforcement and more technology to stop transnational criminal activity that threatens every community in Texas.

But the reality is that DPS cannot recruit, train and deploy 500 new troopers overnight. It takes time to ramp up. That's why this morning, I ordered the Texas National Guard to remain deployed on the border until my security plan is implemented.